Energy Efficiency

If you apply for a building permit on or after January 1, 2012, the proposed construction must comply with enhanced energy efficiency requirements of Ontario’s Building Code.

The 2006 Ontario Building Code set out a “roadmap” for energy efficiency to be implemented from January 1, 2006 through to December 31, 2011. As part of that roadmap, the Code set out energy efficiency benchmarks for houses and for large buildings. Subsequent Code amendments provided additional compliance paths that are consistent with those benchmarks.

These are not exactly new changes – they have been in the Code since 2006. Until now, they have not been mandatory but on January 1, 2012, they will be.

Energy Efficiency Requirements are found in Part 12, “Resource Conservation” under Division B of the Building Code.